Bucky woke up on a hospital bed, feeling very out of his own mind. He couldn't lift his eyelids without crying on the inside, and his head was about to explode. Steve was sitting next to his bed, asleep in an uncomfortable looking chair. It took about half of whatever energy Bucky had to try to wake him up.

"Steve, wake up" It came out as hoarse and quiet. He cleared his throat loudly and tried again. "Steve!" He finally got out. Steve stirred for a second and his eyes opened and he blinked.

"Hey, Bucky you're awake!" Steve smiled and continued, "are you okay? Need any medicine? More rest?"

Bucky thought for a second and then remembered he couldn't actually think because of his pounding headache. "Can I have some pain meds? I've got this horrible headache." Steve nodded and went to get the doctor.

—-

A few hours later, Bucky was discharged and they were both walking back to the tower to Bucky's room so he could get more rest. On the way back, Steve started talking.

"You know, Bucky, you said some weird... things in your sleep." Steve said it cautiously.

Bucky almost froze up but decided he'd be able to play this off. "What'd I say, Steve?" He said, trying to keep a positive tone in his voice.

Steve swallowed, "You said a couple things about Sam."

Great, the one thing he didn't want to tell Steve. Bucky froze up and his steps faltered. And they both stopped and stood. "What did I say?" He said again, more serious than he cared to sound like.

"That- that you loved him." Steve took a pause "so is this like romantically or platonically-"

"-romantically." Bucky gave in, he didn't want to hold the secret and longer. He wanted to tell the whole word he was in love with Sam Wilson. He would, as long as Sam wasn't part of that "whole world".

They both started walking again. "Heh... Funny that Natasha guessed that you liked him. So did Wanda, but that's probably because she has mind powers or something" Bucky was surprised Steve had been so casual about it, his own imagination must've been telling him everyone hated him. After a couple minutes of silence they got to Bucky's bedroom door.

"Keep this a secret?" Bucky asked

"Of course" Steve replied

"Okay, see you later buddy."

Bucky jumped into his bed and his mind drifted off to Sam. Would Steve tell Sam? What would Sam say? What if Bucky accidentally let the truth slip? He couldn't risk being around Sam and being awkward.

His mind wandered off to Sam, and he wondered where he was. Probably in his bedroom sleeping. He decided he wanted a snack.

—

Back in Sam's room, Sam was awake, thinking. Sam was thinking about why Bucky always ignored him. How he only talked to Steve. Sam got to too many dead ends in his thinking, he just decided to get some food. He walked to the kitchen. Sam was about to turn the corner, but stopped and his in the shadows to watch the very man he'd just been thinking about, who was miraculously also in the kitchen. Sam didn't understand why he was standing there, but he did. He watched Bucky for what felt like seconds, but was really about a minute. Sam watched Bucky get up, grab an apple, and eat it. He watched his beautiful lips—

Wait, what was he thinking? Sam shook the thoughts out of his head.